Help with a stovetop PM setup..

I've done a couple brews now with my MW starter kit that had a 4 gallon stainless pot. Its ok but have noted that the bottom is not flat and can flex making it not heat evenly, this also makes a scorch ring where the pot makes contact even if you thoroughly mix the extract.

I plan to move up to partial mashes and to be honest don't see moving up from there for quite some time if ever although I see the benefits of it. I don't want to get into all the equipment and extra time needed for the brewing. I've read Deathbrewer's PM tutorial and I would like to use my 4gal pot for the mash and a larger pot for my sparge/boil pot.

The stove I plan to use is a Frigidaire flat top electric. The largest diameter burner is roughly 11" across. I used my 4 gal pot tonight to test its boiling capacity, I filled it probably within a quart of the top and heated with the lid on. Here's a time line:

8:13 - 125F
8:25 - 180F
8:27 - 190F
8:30 - 200F
8:33 - 212F

My better judgment told me to remove from the heat at 210 due to nearly no headspace but my curiosity took over and had a boil over of tap water. This was enough to make me never want to experience a boil over of wort although it was easily cleaned on the flat top. I though 20 minutes to boil 4 gallons was pretty good for a electric stove.

So I think I could do nearly full boils and do small topoffs to reach 5 gallon batches. Based on what you guys see from my situation what do you think you'd get for the main brew pot. I've been eying the Megapots and think th 24 quart is large enough but not sure.

If it helps I'll probably try to use my oven to keep the 155F mash temps using my 4 gal pot which fits fine.

Also will a 20' x 3/8" copper IC cool this amount of wort? I plan to pump ice water through the IC with an aquarium pump I have on hand.

I would recommend nothing smaller than 7.5 gallons. That will enable you to do a full boil for a 5 gallon batch with a little headspace. Even if you don't think it will be for a while, it's a good investment.

That being said, i use a 5 gallon pot when i do my partial boils. You cannot comfortably boil over 4 gallons, however, and keep in mind that extract will add volume once added.

20 minutes is not bad at all for an ellectric burner. i think mine would probably take longer.

and that wort chiller should work just fine.

One thing I was worried about on the stove top was the weight but with all 4 gallons loaded up I didn't notice any sagging or strain on the glass/ceramic top. I even pushed down a bit to simulate more water being added. 5-6 gallons should pose no threat of damage to my stove.

One thing that's going to hurt me is the diameter of the pots. My 4 gallon pot is 11" in diameter which is just perfect for my burner. The 6 gallon megapot is 13 1/4" and the 8 gallon is 14". This would have a 1 1/2" hanging over the burner. I don't see a 7.5 gallon pot, what brand did you see?

Will a delayed boil, like say 30 minutes begin to have any negative effects? Of course after I sparge my water temp will probably be at 165 or so and probably wouldn't take the entire time to boil as my test started at about 120 degrees.

my bigger pots stick out around my burner. it's not a problem.

i don't remember where i got my 7.5 gallon

bayou classic makes really decent CHEAP pots. They're thin-walled but still nice...I have a few of them I use for various things, including boiling my 15 gallon batches.

Here's a 9 gallon:

Stainless Steel Stock Pots, 36 Quart Stainless Steel Pot

you'll probably be fine for heating, although it may be tough with a full boil of 6+ gallons. keeping it covered while initially heating will help...just keep an eye on that sucker. remember, a watched pot never boils...over.

DeathBrewer said:

Here's a 9 gallon:

Stainless Steel Stock Pots, 36 Quart Stainless Steel Pot

Click to expand...

That's the pot I use. I'm very pleased with it....33 full boil batches and counting so far.

I just went through this last night. I have a 6 gallon megapot and a new 7.5 gallon turkey fryer. The ost I have boiled in the megapot was just over 4.5 gallons and it that was pushing it. I only has bittering hops and that addition almost caused a boilover. This time I used DB's PM method hoping to boil 5+ gallons in the turkey fryer. I also have a flat top electric stove. Like you, my 7.5g pot was not flat and intensity of the boil or any stiriing caused it to shake. Slowly at first but it built up and it was bad enough that I would not walk away for more than a few seconds. It didn't take long to decide that the risk was not worth it and I split my batch, now at 6g because I got carried away with the sparge, into my 6g megapot and another 3g pot. It worked out anyway.

Long story short, make sure that the bigger pot you get is flat at the bottom.

If you ever think that maybe someday you'll do 10 gallons brews, I would jump in for the 14.5 gallon pot.
It is 15in diameter and I use a ss fb with it and it works wonderfully(it is my mash tun and kettle).